Related content

It left students across the city with spare time, though those spoken to by the Post from Nottingham Trent were in support of their lecturers.

Mohammed Hamza, 20, a second year business management student, said: “I had a morning lecture cancelled because of the strike.

“It is a bit of an inconvenience but I feel the staff work hard and deserve to get more recognition, so I feel they are doing the right thing.”

First year business and HR management student Lisa McColm, 29, said: “When we are paying a lot of money for tuition fees it is quite annoying, especially given that this is not the first strike.

“But if I was in their position I would probably be going on strike as well. I can see why they are doing it.”

Lisa’s course mate Katie Ozman, 21, added: “My mum is a teacher so I know the hard work that people in that profession do.

“If she wasn’t then I may think they should just get on with it. But they are doing the right thing.”

The lecturers believe they should receive a bigger pay rise, given that the cost of living is going up much quicker.

Picket lines were manned at Nottingham Trent’s city and Clifton campuses, as well as the University of Nottingham’s University Park and Jubilee sites.

At Trent’s city site, the protestors held placards, saying: “The money is there, where’s our share?”

Union branch secretary Patrick Connellan, an art and design lecturer at Trent, said: “The pay rise offer is not enough and we will continue this action if talks aren’t held.”

His University of Nottingham counterpart Howard Stevenson added: “We have had a lot of support from students. We don’t want them to miss their lectures but we feel we have no choice.”

The union has said further action could include more strikes and a marking boycott.

A spokesman for Nottingham Trent University said disruption was kept to a minimum.

He added: “The university’s policy on part-day strikes, which is underpinned by legal advice, has always been to deduct a full day’s pay for partial performance. This approach, to what is in effect a breach of the contract of employment, is being followed by around 50 other universities.

“In addition to the one per cent pay offer that has already been paid in December, over half of our employees also received an automatic increment increase worth three per cent in 2013.”

Comments

"THOUSANDS of Nottingham students had their lectures and seminars cancelled as university staff went on strike yesterday."
mmm, when I went to Uni we didn't have Lectures or Seminars on a Sunday anyway